


Taking Care

by MagicalMysteryGirl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Darcy pays attention, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Massage, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Steve doesn't know when to take care of himself, because it's good, hot chocolate with ice cream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:38:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7391209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalMysteryGirl/pseuds/MagicalMysteryGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve spends so much time taking care of other people, he generally forgets to take care of himself. So after a long, hard mission Darcy decides to step in. If Steve's so busy taking care of other people who is taking care of him? Darcy, that's who.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY everyone!! As this is my favorite holiday (and not just because of our beloved Captain's birthday) I thought I would pull out one of my dusty oneshots and post it to help celebrate the holiday (and Cap's Birthday). Hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!

Darcy waited until everyone had gone their separate ways before approaching him, “Alright Captain-Nothing-Hurts-Me,” she announced her presence, making her favorite super soldier stiffen and straighten from where he’d leant against the large windows. Exhaustion lined every muscle in his body and was nearly bone deep in his eyes when he turned to look at her, “Tell me where you’re hurt,” she ordered as she neared him.

He frowned in confusion at her, “I’m fine Darcy,” he brushed away her concern.

“Uh-huh,” Darcy returned with sarcastic belief, “So when I poke you here,” she lightly jabbed at a place she knew would be hurt and arched a knowing eyebrow at him when he hissed and flinched away from her, “It doesn’t hurt you at all, right?”  she didn’t wait for his response before wrapping her hands around his wrist and tugging him towards the elevator, “Come on Cap,” she murmured, her eyes locking with his, “Time to stop being Captain America and just be Steve for a little bit. Cap’s taken care of everyone on his team and they’re all home, safe and in one piece; now it’s Steve’s turn to be taken care of.”

“Darcy…” he started, seeming uncertain, though his gaze on her was warm and affectionate.

Darcy shook her head at him as she pulled him into the elevator with her, “Nuh-uh Steve,” she frowned at him, “Not up for negotiation. You take such good care of everyone else but you need to take a minute to take care of yourself too; or at least let someone else take care of you.”

Steve seemed to think about this for a minute before lifting his free hand to brush some hair behind her ear, “Do I have a choice?” he asked knowingly, his voice soft and the twinkle in his eye giving away his amusement at the situation.

Shrugging Darcy turned his hand over in hers and lightly traced the lines on his palms, “Only if you really don’t want to,” she answered as a sudden bout of shyness. She knew they’d been walking around what was growing between them for a few months now, but sometimes she found herself self-consciously wondering what he could possibly see in her that would attract him.

“Darcy,” he caught her attention and brought her gaze up to meet his with a warm hand under her chin, “I want to,” he offered her a small smile as he turned his hand over in hers to lace their fingers together. Seeing the trust and familiar adoration in his gaze sent a shot of warmth into her heart, “But I really am fine.”

“Ha,” Darcy rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the elevator and into Steve’s apartment, a place that was almost more familiar and homey to her than the floor she shared with Jane and Thor, “Tell that so someone who didn’t watch that Doombot thing wail on you with his metal arms and laser beams on the big screen tonight,” she dragged him through the apartment to his room, “Now go change into something more comfortable,” she pointed at the open door imperiously. When he didn’t move and instead just watched her with amusement on his lips and in his eyes, “That’s an order soldier!” she snapped dramatically channeling her inner four-star general with a smirk.

Steve rolled his eyes at her and slowly slid his fingers from hers, seeming just as reluctant to let go as she was, “Yes ma’am,” he mock saluted her and moved into the bedroom.

“None of your sass Rogers,” she declared through the partially shut door with a small laugh to herself.  Turning around she perused the large area around her and shook her head in amusement at an old t-shirt that Steve had probably tossed onto the back of the couch before he’d been called out to fight.  With a familiarity that suggested how much time she spent here with Steve, Darcy moved around to the kitchen pulling out all the ingredients necessary for some of her homemade hot cocoa.

“Turn on some chill music Friday would you?” she asked the AI that had taken Jarvis’s place as keeper of the Tower and Tony.

When the first piano notes came on Darcy smiled a little and set to work whipping up her family favorite cocoa. She heard the shower switch on in Steve’s bathroom and struggled not to picture a naked Steve standing under the warm water. Focusing down on the cocoa she was stirring together on the stovetop she hummed along to the slow song that was playing. She let it boil for a moment before switching the stove off and leaving the cocoa to cool a little.

Turning she smiled when she spotted Steve as he reappeared in a grey wife-beater and a pair of black pajama bottoms. He smiled back at her, his eyes lighting up when he spotted the cocoa she was making. It was one of his favorite things she’d ever made for him, he told her it reminded him of a drink his mother used to make him when he was feeling down.

“Take a seat,” Darcy told him with a nod towards the sinfully comfortable couch that rested in front of a large Stark television. Watching him drop slowly into the couch and grimace as a few of his muscles pulled, Darcy resisted the urge to roll her eyes, how was it that no one else ever noticed that he was in so much pain?

She knew he didn’t like to burden others, but surely someone else besides her could tell that he wasn’t as alright as he pretended to be. Or was it that he just let his guard down around her and didn’t feel like he had to pretend for her? 

She smiled as she recalled the first time she’d braved a trip to Steve’s apartment.  Thor and Jane had been quite…ahem…loud while celebrating the team’s latest victory and her normal escape buddy Clint was busy with Natasha, her other escape buddy. She’d considered going for a walk but seeing as it had been eleven at night in New York she didn’t think that was a very smart idea. She’d remembered Steve was still in the Tower and was likely alone, and she’d been meaning to get to know him better so she’d taken a deep breath and asked Friday to ask him if he was up for some company.

His ears had turned red when she told him why she was trying to escape from her apartment but he’d graciously offered her a place to crash whenever she needed. She’d accepted and asked him how the whole adjusting to the 21st century thing was going. He’d admitted to being more than a little overwhelmed at times, despite his grasp of technology and Darcy had taken it upon herself then to become his self-proclaimed guide to the last seven decades.

What had initially been a convenient escape soon became her favorite past time. She could honestly say she spent more time in Steve’s apartment with Steve than she did in her own.  Her friendship with Steve grew and began to affect not just their personal relationship but the way they approached the team. As Avengers PR/Analyst/Wrangler/Sounding board Darcy worked close with Steve as the leader of the Avengers to make sure their team was taken care of.  He shared his concerns about the team with her and she helped him sort through his thoughts and come up with effective plans to strengthen the team. 

Despite Darcy’s nearly constant need to chatter during the day, she liked coming to see Steve because she knew that sometimes he didn’t want to talk. Sometimes the silence would stretch between them for long stretches of time but not a second of it was awkward.  She’d found herself sharing bits and pieces of herself she never thought she’d share with anyone, like her past with an abusive father, a doting mother, one older brother, and a younger brother and sister. She shared her love of music as an expression of emotion, and her talent for playing the piano and singing.

He’d opened up to her in return, sharing his art and telling her stories about Bucky, Peggy and the Commandos. He confessed his mission to find Bucky and his fears that even after he found Bucky he wouldn’t be able to convince him to come in. He shared his worries about the team and his occasional feelings of inadequacy that came when he remembered the scrawny little nobody he once was. He shared a part of himself with her that she felt certain few people ever got to see; and few if any of those were even alive in this decade.

“You look deep in thought,” Steve’s voice brought her out of her memories and made her look at him to find him standing next to the counter she was cleaning some spilled sugar from.

Darcy offered him a small smile, “Just thinking,” she hummed.

“What about?” he asked, propping his hip against the counter and folding his arms. Really the man shouldn’t be allowed to look so good without even trying, it was killer on her heart and the dive bombing butterflies in her stomach.

“You,” she answered simply, meaningfully meeting his gaze with her own. She watched his eyes widen in surprise at her blunt response but she didn’t give him time to come up with a reply, “Would you like some cocoa?” she asked, twirling around and snatching up a tall white mug that featured Bucky Bear that she’d gotten him for his birthday a year or so ago.

“You know I’ll never turn down your cocoa Doll,” he murmured, and she could practically feel his eyes on her as she poured some cocoa into the mug. Instead of handing it straight over though she moved to the freezer and reached in to pull out some chocolate ice cream.  Ignoring the curious gaze she caught as she headed back towards his mug, she pulled open the ice cream carton and scooped out a full scoop of ice cream and dropped it into the ice cream.

She lightly stirred it a few times with a spoon before turning and handing it over to Steve. Once the mug was in his hands she dropped one of her hands to grab the hem of his tank-top and drag it up to the center of his chest, exposing his stomach, “Where does it hurt?” she asked, her eyes locking on his side where she knew one of the bots had sliced him not surprised to find it covered in one large black and blue bruise.  She hissed sympathetically and lightly brushed her cold fingers over the edges of the bruise.

“Darcy—“

“If you say you’re fine one more time Rogers,” she warned with a pointed look before stepping closer and lifting the hem of his shirt up a little more so she could see a little better. Ignoring the flutters that appeared in her stomach as she took in the muscles she’d just revealed, she reached out with her other hand and lightly brushed over a few of the other bruises that were scattered across his torso.

Tugging on the shirt in her hands she used her free hand to grasp his waist and turn him to see his back. She hummed sadly as she took in the black and blue bruises scattered all over his back, “Are your legs hurt too?” she asked as she let go of his shirt and stepped back a little to look up at him.

He seemed to contemplate this for a minute but her warning gaze must have told him to tell the truth because he sighed and admitted, “My left calf and my ankles are a little sore,” he told her.

“From when you jumped from that flying bot?” she inquired with a knowing look, “Because of course there was no better way to find your way to the ground,” she added the commentary she’d yelled at the television while Jane and Pepper had snickered at her. Apparently she was being obvious, sue her.

He offered her a chagrined smile and shrugged one shoulder, “Not one that could be found before the bot blew up,” he replied.

Darcy gave a small laugh and then ushered him towards the couch he’d been sitting on earlier, “Alright, have a seat,” she instructed as she turned and headed towards a box she’d brought up here as soon as she’d known the Avengers were safe and on their way home.  Turning back to Steve she moved around until she was able to sit at his feet comfortably. She caught his confused frown and offered him a smile, “Trust me will you?” she stopped whatever comment was headed her way.

Still appearing uncertain, but willing to trust her as she’d asked, Steve sat back on the couch and watched as Darcy lifted his right foot into her lap. She then bent towards the box and went about pulling out several small containers. She uncapped a large one and poured a few drops of the oil inside into her left hand before recapping it and moving on to add a few drops from a few other containers. Rubbing the oils together in her hand and smiling at the warm scents that were beginning to permeate the air, she met his eyes once before bent over his foot to apply the oils there.

Steve tensed at first, unsure of what she was doing but as he felt the oils sink into his skin and as she worked on the muscles in his foot he slowly relaxed and sank back into the couch cushions with a small sigh, “What is that?” he asked a few minutes later.

“My mother went through this hippy faze a few years back,” she softly explained, gently lowering his leg to the floor and lifting his left leg to rest on her lap while she poured out a few more drops of the various oils, “And while it didn’t really last, natural oils wound up sticking around at our house. These oils that I’m applying are good for sore muscles and various aches and pains,” she smiled when he gave a contented hum as she rubbed the oils up and down his calf muscles.

“And your inexplicable skill at massages?” he inquired as he took a small drink of his cocoa.

Darcy smiled, “I considered going into massage therapy as a career for a long time.”

Steve shifted a little to look at her in curiosity, “Why didn’t you?”

“The idea of touching a bunch of strangers in such an intimate way kind of freaked me out,” she admitted with a small shrug, “It also requires a certain amount of zen that I don’t tend to have.”

Grunting a little as Darcy dug into a particularly tight muscle on the back of his leg, Steve sighed when he felt it loosen and relax under her nimble fingers, “Glad I’m not a stranger,” he commented after another sip of cocoa.

Darcy winked at him but didn’t say anything else. She kept working on his feet until she was sure he was done with his cocoa. Once he was done, she shifted his feet out of her lap and knelt up to take the cup from him and place it on the coffee table. Once that was out of the way she pulled him forwards, “Sit sideways here,” she instructed softly. Once he did as told, sitting sideways so she could reach his side she tugged on his shirt, “Take this off,” she requested.

Steve shot her a mischievous grin that instantly raised a blush in her cheeks, “If you wanted me shirtless Doll, all you had to do was say so,” he teased her as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

“I just did,” she retorted, trying to ignore the blush in her cheeks and the flutter in her chest at the look he was giving her. Shifting forward until her knees were pressed against the couch she put together a different collection of oils and rubbed them together in her hands, “This might hurt a little at first while I’m putting it on,” she warned him, suddenly becoming aware of how close their faces were when he turned his head to look at her.

“Okay,” he replied, his voice low and his eyes dropping to her lips for a moment before lifting to her eyes again.

Blinking as if coming out of a trance, Darcy cleared her throat and backed up a little ignoring the pleased smirk on Steve’s face as she focused on her task. Placing her hands lightly on the large bruise on his side she gingerly applied the oil. She felt him flinch and grimaced, “Sorry,” she murmured.

“You’re doing just fine Doll, it just surprised me is all,” he reassured her.

Darcy darted a quick glance up at his face to gage if he was telling the truth or not. Seeing that he didn’t seem to be in any sort of pain from her actions anymore she relaxed a little and finished applying the oil to the bruise on his side.  She dabbed a little more onto the various other bruises around on his back while she could reach it.  Once she was finished with that she reached behind him and snagged the towel she’d placed on the back of the couch earlier before Steve had come home and unfolded it onto the back of the couch.

“Sit back,” she told him once she was finished.  Once he’d done so, his blue eyes opening to watch her, she shifted around until she was kneeling between his knees.  She mixed up some more oils and then leant forward to apply them to the bruises that were scattered on his chest.  Her fingers pressed lightly and fluttered here and there, focused on her task as she ignored his intent stare.

Once she’d finished with the bruises on his chest she went to stand up only to find her wrist enclosed in Steve’s grip. Surprised she looked up at him only to find his gaze locked on her. There was a heat and longing in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before and she found herself leaning towards him as she tried to piece together what it was for.

“Darcy,” his voice was low and intense, “I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her, “Tell me to stop if that’s not something you want,” he shifted forward until their noses were brushing against each other.

“Don’t stop,” Darcy panted, suddenly very alert and aware of every movement either one of them made towards one another. His breath was warm on her lips and when his lips lightly brushed against hers, her eyes fluttered shut on instinct, “ _Please_ don’t stop,” she murmured, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

One of Steve’s hands lifted to cradle the side of her head and she instinctively leant her head into his warmth. His other hand released her wrist and carded through her hair to rest at the base of her skull where it settled to hold her still as his lips caught hers in a slow but deep kiss. Even though she was prepared for this, she still couldn’t help the gasp that escaped at the sparks that shot between them at the contact. She leant forward trying to deepen the kiss with a soft moan as she remembered all the nights she’d lain awake wondering what this moment would feel like.

Steve pulled back a moment later and she heart a distant whimper of protest that took a few seconds longer than it should have to recognize as her own. He gave a small huff of laughter before his head tilted and his lips collided with hers again. There was nothing brief or slow about this kiss, this was a dam breaking, a flood of emotions cascading between them, a starving man finally allowed to feast after an eternity of longing for food. 

Aware of the oil still coating her hands, Darcy carefully lowered her wrists to his thighs to help lean into the kiss. She felt his tongue prod at her lips and opened eagerly, humming in contentment as his tongue sought out hers, tasting the lingering taste of her hot chocolate on his tongue. She kissed him back as well as she knew how, well aware that this was a culmination of several months of longing and want. Wrapping one arm around Steve’s shoulders to pull him impossibly closer, she smiled internally when the hand in her hair slid down her back to try and do the same.

Feeling oxygen becoming a necessity, Darcy found herself cursing her lack of super-soldier breathing capabilities when she was the one who was finally forced to pull away. Steve let a small murmur of discontent and tried to chase her lips in a series of quick kisses that left her gasping.

“You are very good at that,” Darcy declared as she dropped back onto her heels and stared up at him.

A slow, pleased, smile spread across Steve’s face, “You’re not bad yourself Doll,” he replied, his thumb moving to brush against her kiss-bruised lips. She smiled and pressed a small kiss to his thumb before closing her eyes as she caught her breath.

“I’m thinking we should have done that ages ago,” she commented softly, unsure of how he would react to her thought.

Steve chuckled and the hand that had been tracing her lips smoothed through her long hair, “I think you’re right,” he agreed, “I’d even go as far as to say that we have a lot of catching up to do,” the teasing in his voice brought her eyes open to stare up at him with amusement.

“I agree,” Darcy then surprised him by surging up and claiming his lips with her own in a slow intense kiss. She felt him shift forward to pull her into him but then came a slight flinch and Darcy suddenly remembered why she was here in the first place. She kissed him for a few more minutes before slowly pulling away only to gasp when Steve wouldn’t allow any separation and moved his kisses across her jaw and down her neck, “I…” she started trying to remember why she’d pulled away in the first place, “You…” drats he was making coherent thought difficult, “Steve—“ she gasped as he found a particularly sensitive spot on her throat and lightly sucked. It was probably going to leave a mark; she probably didn’t care.

“Yes?” Steve teased her, his warm breath fanning over her skin, sending chills racing down her spine.

“You’re making it very hard to—“ she hummed as he nipped at her jaw.

“To what?” he breathed,  his hand lightly grabbing at the hair on the side of her head to pull her head so that he could have more access to her neck.

“Think,” she squeaked when he licked up the column of her neck playfully.

He chuckled again, it was comforting she noticed, low and deep in his chest, “Then maybe you should try not to think,” he mouthed at her neck with hot open mouth kisses, clearly intending to distract her until she forgot all about her mission. It nearly worked too as she tilted her head to catch his lips with hers, right up until she accidentally brushed against his side in an attempt to pull herself closer.  She didn’t feel him flinch but she did feel the sharp inhalation of breath, and it was enough to jumpstart her brain again.

“Okay,” she pulled away, “Okay, okay,” she gave up on keeping her oily hands from his skin and used them to press on his shoulders as he attempted to follow her again, “Okay,” she repeated opening her eyes.

He was smirking at her with a knowing and self-pleased glint in his eye, “You said that already,” he murmured, his eyes dropping to her lips for a moment before meeting hers again.

“You are very good at distracting me,” she told him bluntly, her eyes narrowed, “I’ll give you that,” she nearly rolled her eyes at the smug look that came over him, wondering how offended he’d be if she told him how much he looked like Tony in that moment, “But you are hurt,” she held up a hand to stop his protest, “and if I know your post mission habits at all, they usually consist of the strongest pain medication you can find and bed because you are in so much pain. Not just from the bruises and various injuries,” she gave him a knowing and understanding look, “but from the headaches you get after you come down from your adrenaline high.”

Now that she was looking for it she could see the slight discoloration of his blue eyes that told her she was right about the headache, he was just hiding it really well, “As much as I’d love to keep kissing you,” her eyes dropped to his own kiss bruised lips, “I’d much rather you weren’t in pain while I did,” she gave him a gentle smile and rose to her feet, “So I’m going to go wipe off my hands real quick and you and I are going to switch places,” she reached over and grabbed one of the cushions and dropped it down on the floor in front of the couch before heading over to the sink.

Turning the water as warm as she could stand it she rinsed the oil off her hands and attempted to warm her hands up. Her hands always seemed to be cold no matter what she did, but she knew the massage would feel better with warmer hands.  Toweling her hands dry, Darcy turned around to head back to where Steve was only to find him already sitting on the cushion she’d set on the floor. His dark blue eyes were locked on her as she padded across the floor, and even though she was wearing plain black bellbottom pajama bottoms and an old grey t-shirt Steve had been about to throw away before she salvaged it for simple diy cut and tie shirt, something in his gaze made her feel like the sexiest woman alive.

Feeling her cheeks heat up with pleasure and embarrassment she ducked her head and tried to pull her racing emotions under control. Really this shift in their relationship wasn’t exactly a surprise. She was pretty sure they’d both known it was coming for a while now. But knowing it was coming and actually having it happen was enough to send her emotions skyrocketing. This was going to change everything and yet nothing all at the same time.

Lifting her head she met his eyes and offered him a shy smile, one he returned with his own quirk of his lips; and that, more than anything else, told her he was just as shy and excited about what was happening between them as she was. She’d seen him give the same boy-scout look every time someone said something complimentary about him that he wasn’t expecting, or every time someone did something that reminded him of the small skinny pre-serum Steve he used to be. To have him give it to her now told her that he was thinking as pre-serum Steve would have, wondering if this was all a really good dream, or maybe even wondering how he’d managed to catch her attention.

As she finally reached him her hand carded softly through his hair, an action he leaned into with eyes shutting and a soft sigh. She smiled at the trust he was showing her and moved around until she could throw her leg over him to sit on the couch directly behind him. Her knees settled on either side of his shoulders and she cradled his head in her hands for a moment as she leant forward to drop a kiss to the top of his head. She then reached down into the box that was resting next to him to pull out the bottle of peppermint oil that she knew would help with his headaches.

“Thank you for doing this,” his voice was quiet, but the low baritone made it easy to interpret, “It’s nice to…be taken care of like this.”

Darcy smiled as she dumped out some of the oil into her hands and began rubbing them together to warm it up a little, “I get the feeling Bucky may have something to say about you actually being willing to let someone take care of you.”

She felt more than heard his laugh, “He probably would,” Steve agreed, “It was harder back then though, when I was smaller and sick all the time. I knew I wasn’t pulling my own weight and every time someone tried to help me it just felt like they were doing it more to point that out than to help. Even when that wasn’t true.”

They’d had this conversation before, so Darcy did nothing more than hum in sympathy as she reached forward and pressed her fingers to the base of his neck. His muscles were just as tense and knotted as she’d suspected they’d be. She’d been wanting to give him a massage like this for almost as long as she’d known him, it had just taken her this long to work up the courage to do it. Steve wasn’t used to casual touch like most people Darcy knew were. She didn’t know if it came from the time period he grew up in, the emotional distance he’d tried to keep between himself and everyone in this decade, or just some personal preference, but she could tell almost right away from the way he’d held himself when they first met that Steve had a larger personal bubble than most people.

She’d respected that bubble for the first few weeks of their friendship, but then without realizing it, she’d begun to invade it. Darcy herself was a people person, and after her dad had left them, her home became an environment where touch was just another method of communicating so to her it was second nature to touch other people.  She’d held herself back when she’d first reached out to him in order to help him feel more comfortable and at ease with her. But over time she began to breach those walls, at first it was without realizing it, a small touch on the shoulder here, a hip check there, until she knew they were both comfortable with her reaching out to him like this.

Slowly her hands moved from his neck and into his hair, massaging his scalp with skilled and practiced movements that had his head lolling forward.  She heard him sigh again as more tension left his body, and his head slowly relaxed into her hands enough that he moved willingly whichever way she wanted him to. She loved his hair as soft and silky as it was and she knew he liked when she played with it so she took a little extra time combing at the strands, tugging at his hair for several seconds before letting it go.

After spending several quiet minutes massaging his scalp she moved a little more forward and pressed her fingers to his temple, lightly massaging around his face and ears. Once she’d finished with that she worked backwards, moving her hands back into his hair and slowly back down to his neck. There she gently worked at easing the strain in the muscles connecting his neck to his shoulders. She worked her way outwards on his left shoulder and down, careful of the bruises on his skin, gently easing the knots she found before smoothing her hands over his warm skin and switching to his right shoulder.  Finding a particularly tense spot there about midway between his neck and shoulder she pressed a little harder until she felt the muscle give beneath her fingers.

Steve let out a low moan that sent chills through her body and she felt the last of his tenseness and strain leave as he slouched back against her.  She finished his right shoulder and lightly rubbed the back of his neck with her now warm fingers before sliding her hands down his chest as she leant forward to press a soft kiss to his neck. She rested her head against his and propped her chin on his shoulder, lightly tracing her fingers over his stomach, “Feel any better?” she murmured a moment later.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he raised his hands to cover hers and hold them to him, “Blissed out would be an accurate description,” he answered his voice quiet, “I think I’ll have to ask you to do that again sometime.”

She smiled with a small laugh as she turned her face into his neck, nuzzling just beneath his ear, “Anytime,” she agreed pressing a kiss to his jaw.

A low hum vibrated his chest beneath her hands and he tilted his head back to rest it against her shoulder for a few minutes “So I was thinking,” his low voice spoke a while later.

“A dangerous pastime,” Darcy joked, her nose pressed against his head, inhaling the scent of peppermint and Steve.

Steve’s eyes opened and his head tilted back and turned to look up at her with a sarcastically amused smile, “You should let me take you on a date,” he finished as if she hadn’t interrupted.

Darcy blinked at him and shifted a little to see him better, “Really?” the word escaped with more incredulity than she’d have liked.

His eyebrows pulled together in momentary confusion, “Yeah,” he shifted around a little, turning to see her face, “I mean, only if you want to…we don’t have to—“

Seeing that he was getting a little flustered Darcy hurried to reassure him, “I’d like that,” she agreed, “I just wasn’t sure…I mean…you’re _Captain America_ ,” and even though she saw him sit up straighter and open his mouth with some sort of counterargument to that statement she continued on, “And I know you like to keep the Captain and Steve separate, but if we go out together people will wonder who it is that the _Captain_ is dating. You know they have a hard time with that distinction,” she knew it frustrated him, but they both knew it was true, “and that will lead to questions about what it is that I have that so many other girls don’t that caught your attention and I know it sounds like I care what the media thinks of me, when I don’t, I just don’t know if _I_ even have an answer to that question and now I’m rambling; I’ll stop. Now.” She snapped her jaw shut and squeezed her eyes closed. Way to throw your insecurities in his face Lewis.

Steve frowned again and turned until he was kneeling in front of her. His hand reached out and brushed across her eyebrows causing her to pull her eyes open but she didn’t look at him. “Darcy,” he started softly, ducking his head so he could catch her gaze, “Hey, look at me,” his warm hand smoothed down the side of her face until he was cradling her jaw, his thumb brushing in small circles, “You know you’re amazing right?” he sounded as if he were asking a question but she was pretty sure it was rhetorical, “You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and you _love_ so brilliantly,” he made sure his eyes met hers, “Anyone who can’t see that isn’t worth your time or mine.”

Darcy licked her lips and wondered if there were actually hearts in her eyes for how heart her heart was pounding with feeling like it was about to explode with feelings, “Thank you,” she accepted his words demurely.

“You know you’ve become one of the most important people in my life right?” Steve went on earnestly, “I don’t care what the media think or what the general population of the planet thinks about you and me. All I care about is that you know that I want to be with you, that I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about anybody before, that I want to be seen with you and that I want to shout from the rooftops that you’re finally _finally_ mine,” the hope and sincerity in his eyes made a few tears appear in hers, “So what do you say Doll?” he murmured, “Will you go out with me, be my girl?”

Feeling a smile break past the tears that had gathered in her eyes Darcy laughed a little, “Only if you’ll be my guy Rogers,” she agreed, swiping at a stray tear that actually escaped her eyes, “You sure know how to make a girl feel special,” she commented as she wiped the water from her hand onto her pants.

A gentle smile answered her, Steve’s thumb on her jaw moving back and forth, “Only my girl,” he replied before pulling her forward to kiss her some more.

As the kisses became slower and more languid, Darcy sighed with contentment and slowly pulled away to press her forehead to his, “It’s getting late,” she whispered, “I should be getting back to my apartment.”

“About that,” Steve chuckled a little, “It’s apparently some sort of holiday week or something for Thor and he asked me to try and keep you here with me so that he and Jane could…um…” his ears were turning an adorable shade of red which made her laugh a little, “You know,” he gave her an exasperated look, “without bothering you.”

“Awe,” Darcy cooed carding her hand through the hair on the side of his head, “That was nice of him to warn at least one of us,” she rolled her eyes good-humoredly, “So basically I’ve been kicked out of my apartment by Thor until further notice and he thought I’d like to stay here with you?”

Steve gave his shy smile and a small one shoulder shrug, “He may have been talking to Natasha at the time, but she and Clint clearly had other plans for tonight so…” he ducked his head for a moment to try and force back his embarrassment, “Any excuse I can find to keep you around I’ll take,” he stated, his voice gentle as his eyes lifted to meet hers once more.

“All you had to do was ask,” Darcy returned seriously before using her own hand in his hair to pull him into her for another soft kiss; she was pretty sure kissing Steve Rogers was her new favorite pastime. She pulled back after a few minutes and watched him struggle to pull his eyes open to look at her. Giving him a knowing smile she pressed a small chaste kiss to his lips before speaking, “So the way I see it,” she started, “We can either cuddle up here on the couch and pretend like we’ll go sleep in separate beds when we get tired when in reality neither of us will move because we want to stay right here next to each other; or,” she slowly rose to her feet and waited until he did the same before taking his hand and pulling him towards his room, “we can both go to sleep in your super awesome bed and quit pretending like either of us wants to be anywhere else.”

Steve followed her silently for a few more steps, his eyes locked on hers as if he were trying to gage her reaction to something. He must have come to some conclusion however because he pulled them to a stop just outside of his room. She frowned up at him as she waited to hear whatever thoughts were going through his mind, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he murmured regretfully.

“Why not?” she asked patiently.

His eyes pulled from hers to look behind her at the bed with some kind of longing that told her that he wasn’t turning her down because he didn’t want to sleep with her next to him, but for some other reason, “Because,” he started haltingly, seeming unsure of how his answer was going to be received. She squeezed his hand to encourage him and after he took a courage-gathering breath he met her eyes again as he exhaled, “Because if I have you in my bed, if I sleep next to you and hold you and wake up with you next to me in the morning…” he shook his head and glanced at the bed again before looking back at her, “I won’t ever be able to let you go.”

As Darcy watched him internally panic at what he’d just said a slow smile spread across her lips, “Well,” she gave a half laugh, “that sounds pretty good to me,” and she squeezed his hand before tugging him forward again, “What are you waiting for?”

Steve’s eyes widened as he watched her, and she could practically see the second it finally dawned on him that this was real, that this was actually happening right now; that she was really his, “Yeah?” he breathed, his face lighting up.

“Yeah,” she returned with a wink and a grin before letting go of his hand to reach down and tug the covers on the bed back. Turning around to speak to Steve she found him watching her with heat in his eyes she hadn’t seen before.

“If I weren’t so tired right now…” he muttered, seemingly to himself, his voice loaded with meaning.

Darcy smirked, “Promises, promises,” she returned, stepping into his personal space and reaching up to kiss him, intending to show him everything he had to look forward to when he wasn’t so tired. Pulling away abruptly despite his protests she patted his chest over his heart, “I’m going to use the bathroom real quick, you should get some water to hydrate after that massage,” she winked at the flustered expression on Steve’s face and sauntered into the bathroom.

She made quick work of getting ready for bed before reappearing in the darkened bedroom a few minutes later. Thin strips of moonlight streamed through the small gaps between the curtains on the far wall, faintly lighting the bedroom.  Slowly making her way across the room until her knees knocked into the mattress she softly spoke, not wanting to wake Steve up if he was already asleep, “Steve?” she whispered softly.

“Hmm?” he hummed, sounding only barely awake.

 She huffed a laugh but was cut off from saying anything else by Steve reaching out and tugging her onto the bed next to him. She giggled as she bounced a little and he huffed a small laugh as he turned to pull her into his chest, cradling her to him. She felt his nose nuzzle into her hair as he took a deep relaxed sigh.

“Hey Darce?” he spoke a few moments later, still sounding half asleep.

“Yeah?” she sighed, feeling herself beginning to fade off into sleep.

There was a long silent pause before he spoke again, “About that date…” he trailed off.

She couldn’t help it, she laughed, turning on her side to cuddle up against him; this was the most comfortable she’d been in years, “You can pick me up at seven,” she told him, “Now go to sleep,” her hand lifted to wrap around his shoulders and card into his soft and slightly greasy hair.

He hummed something in response but she knew he was too far gone to say anything else.

Bone-deep contentment settled inside her as she closed her eyes. This hadn’t been what she’d had planned for the night, but she couldn’t imagine this perfect moment happening any other way.

 


End file.
